Booster campaign is no incentive for parents

Editor—A slip of paper from the district immunisation coordinator arrived on the same day as the BMJ of 31 May, in which Heath and Ramsay describe the booster campaign for Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine.¹ The slip of paper stated that an appointment had been made for my son at the general practitioner's surgery to receive “additional HIB vaccine. Be wise—immunise.”

The district immunisation coordinator and the Department of Health will have to do better than this if they want their current catch up campaign to be anything other than a failure. The current climate around vaccination means that few parents will take their children for vaccinations unless they fully understand the need for them.